Counting on my fingers, I’m 7 months into development work on Turnover as a game, with maybe 4 months tacked on before that for the engine. Time flies when you’re having fun!
So, what’s going on with Turnover? Over the last couple of weeks, I having been slowing down the forward momentum a bit to get an overall better grasp of what Turnover is as a game and where it is headed in the “second half” of development.
First Half
I keep testing and running through the first 14 levels of Turnover. It feels important to me that these level are my playground where I can test ideas and establish the visual look of the game. So, enemy placements are getting mixed up, gameplay system are slowly becoming refined, and more art is being added to the world.
Boss
There will be a boss character that you have to “fight” after you finish the first 14 levels. This character moves along the story and helps establish the pace and tone for the second half of the game.
He’s a tough cookie.
Second Half
I haven’t begun detailed planning for the second phase of development on Turnover, but I have a sharp outline of what I am looking to achieve for the rest of the game. Mostly, I want to expand on, and also mix up, the gameplay from the second half of the game.
That has been a toughie for me. How do I make the first half of the game fully featured and enjoyable while you are playing, yet make the second half more robust to the point where the first half feels like a primer for the second? That balancing aspect is something that is demanding a good bit of my attention and I think it will remain a challenge right until I have something ready to release.
Kickstarter?
Development of Turnover, in my heart of hearts, is a DIY, no-budget effort. There is essentially no money for the game and all I have been able to invest is my time and my work. I very much enjoy working that way, but ultimately Turnover is going need a little funding to help take development to the next level.
For full disclosure, I have been exploring the idea of launching, perhaps multiple, super low goal Kickstarter campaigns for Turnover. Really, the funds would cover things needed to take Turnover from a game-in-development passion project to an actual releasable product.
The funds I would raise would be used only for administrative costs to bring the game to the wider world, for things like web space, a URL, the Steam Greenlight Fee, money to setup a LLC so Turnover can be sold properly (which is an inexpensive fee in my state). I would not profit in any way from this campaign, keeping the game, essentially, “no-budget”.
Also, I working on coming up with some good rewards for backers, while keeping the goal as low as possible, and without any waste.
The goal is to get Turnover released, DRM Free, at an affordable price to the widest audience possible. I would strive to ensure that any backer helping with funding along the way gets maximum return for a tiny investment.
And, I can't leave without a piece of media, so here is another idle animation for the Sentinel guard. Here's he adjusting his hat after a long patrol.
